Film Review
Director Danièle Dubroux's fascination with psychoanalysis led her
to direct two interesting and highly idiosyncratic films dealing with mental
derangement -
Border Line and
Le Journal du séducteur (1996).
Both are unsettling works whose distinctive style reflects the
increasingly unhinged state of mind of the central protagonist,
but in contrast to the more fanciful, almost surreal second film
Border Line is frighteningly realistic in its portrayal
of a woman's gradual descent into insanity.
Dubroux not only directed the film - her second solo piece
after
La Petite Allumeuse (1987) - she also took the central role,
ably supported by David Léotard (playing her younger lover
whom she becomes convinced is her son) and André Dussollier
(at his best as the husband who fears his wife is losing her mind).
True-to-life performances and some imaginative direction make this
one of Dubroux's better films. Indeed, there are few films that
deal as convincingly with the theme of mental disintegration.
Roman Polanski's
Repulsion (1965)
and
Le Locataire (1976)
tackle the same subject admirably but end up drowning in a maelstrom of hysteria.
By contrast, Dubroux's film is more nuanced and possibly more
disturbing, showing that madness is not an unambiguous, objectively defined
condition but merely a term we arbitrarily assign to a set of behaviours
that frighten us.
© James Travers 2003
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Next Danièle Dubroux film:
Le Journal du séducteur (1996)
Film Synopsis
Hélène, a middle-aged woman who has been married for over 20 years, decides
to visit her former lover. She learns that he has recently died and that his son,
Julien, is living in his apartment. Despite the difference in their ages, Hélène
and Julien are strongly attracted to one another and begin an intense love affair.
However, as their relationship develops, Hélène becomes increasingly convinced
that Julien is her own son. As she tries to obtain the evidence she needs to prove
the genetic link, those around her, including her husand Alexandre, suspect that Hélène
is starting to lose her mind...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.